Key Petrobras union still on strike over back-pay, asset sales

RIO DE JANEIRO Nov 16 (Reuters) - A union representing
workers at state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA
in Brazil's most important production area said on
Monday it remains on strike over back pay and the state-owned
oil company's plans for assets sales.

Sindipetro Norte Fluminense workers operate oil platforms
and other services in the Campos Basin, the source of 64 percent
of Brazil's oil production and 34 percent of its natural gas
output.

SindipetroNF on Saturday rejected a call to end the
two-week-old strike by FUP, the largest Brazilian oil workers
union federation and one of the last strong power bases for
embattled Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff.

An extended strike risks deepening Brazil's economic
recession.

The walkout is also heaping further operational and
financial pressure on Petrobras, which is struggling to maintain
every source of cash as it tries to pay down about $130 billion
of debt, the largest in the world oil industry.

"The rejection has created a confused situation," said
Fernanda Vizeu, a SindipetroNF press officer. "Members want pay
for all the days they were on strike, not half, and want a
broader discussion of budget cuts and asset sales."

A previous split between SindipetroNF and its parent entity
FUP in 2013 was resolved quickly she said.

FUP unions went on strike Nov. 1 in an effort to reverse
Petrobras' plans to cut nearly $100 billion in capital
expenditures over five years and sell $15.1 billion of assets by
the end of 2016. The union was also seeking an 18 percent pay
hike.

With Petrobras admitting to production cuts of as much as 13
percent from pre-strike levels, the walkout was the worst at the
company in 20 years.
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